After No. 1 Troy and No. 2 Averill Park combined for five hits in the first four and a half innings, Jess Marsh broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth, connecting on a two-run home run and sparking the Flying Horses offense en route to a 2-0 victory in the Section II Class A Championship game at Clifton Common on Saturday.

“We just felt like this game was what we worked for all year,” Marsh, who held onto her home run ball throughout the postgame ceremony, said. “It was our time to come together. This was the inning to show who we are and how much we’ve worked for this and how much we really wanted this.”

The victory sends Troy back to the New York State tournament for the second straight season, marking the first time a softball team has done that in program history. The Flying Horses will face off against Section VII champion Peru next Thursday at SUNY Plattsburgh.

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“It’s hard to explain,” Troy coach George Rafferty said of the win. “It’s the work ethic that they have. They’ve been lifting weights as a team since November. They work at it themselves, they do all kinds of things themselves. They’re so serious. They’re softball players. It’s not like I have to do a lot. They’re incredible.”

Lexi Lewis got the inning started, connecting on a leadoff single to short center for just the third Troy hit of the afternoon.

Two hitters later, Marsh stepped up to bat and connected on the deep shot on the very first pitch from Averill Park’s Brittany Meka.

“When you’re up there, you’re just looking for a base hit,” Marsh said. “You know where the pitch is going to be, it’s your second time at bat. As soon as I hit it, it was the feeling, it felt like the right hit. It felt real.”

Aside from that inning, Meka had been a dominant force for the Warriors in the circle.

The senior pitcher tossed a complete game and finished with eight strikeouts, giving up just five total hits.

“She did a heck of a nice job,” AP coach Ken Bailey. “It’s just one hit, one big blow. She got us out of that inning though.”

But, just as they have been throughout the postseason, the Horses were patient at the plate, waiting for their opportunities and swinging right at them when they showed up.

While they may not have put bat on ball often, Troy accomplished just enough at the plate to grab control and, most importantly, momentum.

Following Marsh’s hit, it was simply a matter of maintaining that rhythm, especially in the field.

The Warriors had threatened throughout the day and Troy pitcher Hunter Levesque finished with three strikeouts, lower than her usual total.

But the freshman pitcher never lost confidence and continued to attack the plate, recording her second straight postsesaon shutout.

“I was just trying to hit my spots,” she said. “My defense was incredible. We just got the job done. I’m beyond confident with my outfield and the defense. We came through.”

When the metaphorical chips were down, the Horses defense stood tall, recording a handful of solid plays in the field including a run-robbing catch by sophomore centerfielder Destiny Wierzbicki in the top of the fourth inning to keep AP off the board.

“I just knew that I needed to catch the ball,” she said of the play. “I just sprinted as fast as I could, stuck my glove out and caught the ball. I couldn’t let the ball be a home run.”

The Troy outfield, which fielded the final out of the day on a catch by Breanna Bowen, was a force all afternoon and the trio of players were the foundation for the Horses’ defensive success and, they hope, their potential success in the state tournament.

“I really believe that our outfield is probably the best in Section II,” Rafferty said. “I don’t know everybody’s team, but from what I’ve seen with the range that they have, the speed that they have and the way they can trap the ball, they’re just incredible.”

For the Flying Horses, who do not have a single senior on the roster, the championship was about more than just the victory itself.

It was about chasing history, coming together as a team and never backing down.

“It’s unbelievable,” Rafferty said. “We talked about it before the game, the opportunity. We’re confident. It’s going to be tough, but I like our chances.”